Cotton picking and cleaning machine.



' No. 657,580. Patented Sept. ll, I900.

- J. T. WOULERY.

COTTON PIGKING AND CLEANING MACHINE.

(Application filed Jan. 27, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. WOOLERY, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

COTTON PICKING AND CLEANING MACHIN E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 657,580, dated September11, 1900.

Application f l January 27, 1900. Serial No- 3,003. (No model.)

Worth, Texas, have invented a new and Improved Cotton Picking andCleaning Machine,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for picking or disintegratingmaterial that has short and fine fibers, such as cotton; and the objectis to construct a machine that will separate the fibers of the material,so that dust and dirt or other matter that will destroy the clasticityof the material can be removed therefrom, and by which the material isprepared for making mattresses, pillows, bolsters, comforts, andcushions. The invention will be hereinafter fully described, and moreparticularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisapplication.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2is a diagrammatic View of the feed-rollers and the picker and brush.Fig. 3 is a detail view of the movable bearings. Fig. 4 is adiagrammatic view of the driving-gear for the feedrollers. Fig. 5 isacross-section of the grooved feed-rollers, illustrating the positionwhich these rollers occupy to each other. Fig. 6 illustrates the springpressed lever for supporting the bearings of the movable feed-rollers.Fig. 7 illustrates one of the grooved feed-rollers. Fig. 8 is a detailplan view of the bearing for the picker, showing several holes foradjustment of the picker toward and from the feed-rollers.

indicate the same parts throughoutthe' several views.

The invention consists of feed-rollers, means for delivering. materialtothe feedrollers, a picker, and abrush for taking the material from thepicker. A

The means fordelivering the material to the feed-rollers consists of atraveling apron or belt 1,'m0unted on drums 2 and 3. These drums aremounted in a suitable frame 4,

. which is connected to the frame 5. The shafts sprocket-chain 9, whichextends to a suitable suitable supports. tached to the long arms oflevers 24 and to =the floor of the building or to a sill 30. Springs 29keep the boxes 15 and 22 con-' 1 ings 32 and is provided with teetl133.

cylinder can be driven by any suitable motive I power, and a drive-wheelmay be mounted on the shaft 34 and driven by a band 35.

Similar characters of reference are used to motive power. The belt 1delivers the material to feed-rollers 10 and 11. Roller 11 is journaledin the sides of the frame 4, and the shaft 12 projects through thebearing-block 13, which is attached to the side of frame 4 and has abearing 14 therein. Roller 10 is mounted in a spring-pressed bearing 15.

Bearing 15 moves in a slot 17 and supports 215,3;l1d 22 are supported onspring-pressed levers 24 by means of link rods or standards 25, whichare attached to the bearings and to the short arms of the levers bypivot-bolts 26 or in any other suitable Way. The levers have fulcrums onsuitable supports 27, which may be attached to bars 28 of the frame orto any Spiral springs 29 are atstantly pressed upward, and thus therollers l0 and 11 are held yieldingly in close proximity to each other.

' The picker-cylinder 31 is mounted in bear- This The brush-cylinder 36is mounted adjacent to the picker-cylinder and may be driven by a pulley37, mounted on shaft 38, and this pulley may be-driven by a band 39,running to a suitable motive power. I

The feed-rollers 10, 11, 1 8, and 19 are driven by the spur-gearingshown in Fig. 4. Itwill be seen that power applied to shaft 20, as shownin Fig. 1, will drive all the gear-wheels. Rollers 11 andl8 havestationary bearings, and rollers 10 and 19 are mounted in movablebearings. Shaft drives wheel 40. Wheel 40 drives Wheel 41,mounted instationary bearings. Wheel 41 drives wheel 42, which is mounted inswinging arm 43, which holds the two wheels in mesh. Wheel 42 driveswheel It will be seen that rtneisio and l9"ha v e" yielding motions andthat they are; or can be drivenin all positions that they may occupydescribed. a

smooth.

by means of the gearing shown and above The surfaces of the'rollerslOand 11 are. These rollers somewhat compress material and prepare it forthe rollers 18 and 19, Rollers 18 and 19 have annular grooves andlongitudinal grooves therein. These grooves leave enough of the surfacesof the rollers for bearing-surfaces, to compressv and hold material, sothat it will not be drawnfrom the rollers too fast. by the'teeth of thepicker-cylinder. The teeth of the picker run partly through the annulargrooves of both rollers. The rollers are so arranged that abearing-surface of one roller will always be opposite a longitudinalgroove of the other roller, as shown in Fig. 5 The annular grooves inthe feed-rollers are about five-six teenths of an inch deep, and theteeth of the picker run more orless of this depth. If the material tobe. picked has very short fiber-,1

the teeth project just'about to the bottom of,

the grooves. If the material has long fiber, the teeth need not extendsofar in the grooves. In order to adaptthe picker-teeth for use on fiberof dilferent lengths, the bearings of the picker-shaft are madeadjustable on the frame 5. Additional bolt holes 53 are provided forbolts 54, so that the bearings maybe attached at different adjustmentson the frame. 5. The longitudinal grooves in rollers 18 and 19 need notbe made as deep as the annular I grooves, as it is not probable that themate.-

rial will ever be pressed to the bottom of the grooves. the feed rollersbeing so constructed is to feed the material as the rollers are turnedand at the same time hold the material so firmly that it will not bedrawn through the rollers too, fast by the picker. The. material must beseparated singlefibers in order toget the, best effects in'cleaning thematerial and in securing elasticityin the manufactured articles. Thelongitudinal grooves makerecesses in which the material is slightlypressed, so

it will not go between'the rollersstraight, but 7 will be somewhatcorrugated and will be held by the edges of the surfaces on the side ofthe grooves.

Various changesin the assemblingof vari ous parts of the machine may bemade without departingfrom this invention.

WheelT'ZLS lliivjesf Wheel 49,":

Swings.-.

It will be seen that. the object of I cIaim-as lies; and desire'tesecure by Letters Pat'ent,i"s-'- M 1. A picking and cleaning machinehaving frambfadjacejti't tfi-T dnei'pair of said rollers, and a brushmounted in said frame adjacent to said, picker, the pair of rollers nextto said picker'hav-ing-annular grooves therein oppositely disposed andthe teeth of said picker b g ap e to u n he rooves of e roller. T

I 2. Apicking and cleaning machine having .a pair of feed -rollers, asuitable frame for feed-rollers mounted in said frame. adjacent to. saidfirst-named rollers, the'grooves in the rollers being oppositelydisposed a springpressed bearing for one" of" said rollers, a pickermounted in. said frame and beingprovided with teeth adapted torun in thegrooves of each of saidrollers, and a. brush adapted to take materialfrom said picker.

3. A picking and cleaning machinehaving a. pair of feed-rollers, asuitable. frame for said-rollers, a picker mounted in said frame.adjacentto said rollers, a brush for removing foroneof.saidfeed-rollers, and movable beari'ngs for the other one of" saidbearingsgsaid iand said picker having teeth adapted to run iin'saidgrooves and pick material from said irolle Ea picker, abrush, andfeed-rollers adjacentltosaid. picker, stationary bearings for one ofsaid rollers, movable bearings for the other ifeed-roller, a. leverforeach of said bearings having a suitable fulcrum ,link-bars attached jto the short. arms of said levers and supporting said bearings,e andspiral-springs attached to the longarms of said levers andto, a, fixedsupport whereby saidrollers are held yield- 'ingly in close proximity,said rollers having annular grooves therein andsaid picker hav 'ingte'eth'running in said grooves.

5., A picking an'd cleaning machine. having a suitable frame, a picker,a.b'rush,and two pairs of feed-rollers all mounted in said-frame, one,roller of each pair of feed-rollers being I mounted in spring-pressedbearings, one pair of said feed-rollershaving annular and longitudinalgrooves therein, said rollers being sle-arranged that a bearing-surfaceof one roller iso'pposite a longitudinalgroove in the other roller, saidpicker having teeth adapted to, run in the. annular groovesvof bothofsaid rollers. 1 V

In, testimony whereof I set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses,thisZOth day of ffiWitnessesp VWMr -MANQHEsTER Having fully described myinvention,what

"I. M'. M'OTHERSHEADE v l said rollers, aspringpressedbearing forone ofsaid rollers, a pair of 'annularlygrooved materialfrom said picker,stationary bearings feed-rollers having annular groovestherein 4. Apicking and cleaning machine having feed-rollers arranged in pairs, asuitable frame for said rollers, a picker mounted in said

